Chapter 182

August 1063.

"Watching videotapes continuously is straining our eyes, and the operations team has started protesting because of the increased number of cameras... saying they don't want to spend so much time close to the enemy. For the past six months, it seems even their food has been delivered by robotic arms."

"The No. 0 Prototype shows no resistance or hostility towards machines, so what happened in March? Looking at the No. 0 Prototype, always sitting upright on the bed in the surveillance footage, I suddenly remembered our old conversations."

Why does she always sit on the bed, instead of standing, squatting, or moving around?

"On a whim, after submitting the experiment form to the administrators, I asked the cafeteria for a plastic chair... but the action team refused to go into the inner circle of the surveillance area no matter what... so I had no choice but to carry the plastic chair in myself."

'Entering through that armored door, so sturdy it could withstand Catastrophes, it's easy to get lost in her vacant eyes when you meet her gaze. But compared to her initial sleepy appearance, she now seems to possess much more.'

"The thought of someone being killed just for delivering food terrified me, so after cautiously placing the chair at the door, I initially intended to leave immediately."

'But... No. 0 Prototype moved... very suddenly... in an instant, it teleported to my side, then grabbed my arm, its nails digging into my flesh, making me let out what sounded like a scream.'

The alarm went off instantly. I could hear my teammates behind me, holding anti-armor spears, quietly calling my name. The self-destruct system in the lab was also on the verge of triggering at any moment...

'But I found that the No. 0 Prototype didn't seem to have any malicious intent; she was just holding onto herself and not moving.'

Her bangs, long neglected, had grown so long they covered her eyes, and her azure pupils, peeking through the gaps in her hair against the backdrop of the gray concrete and steel walls, resembled the Morning Star in the sky.

This was only the second time I'd faced her face-to-face, excluding the time she woke up... and only now, looking at the No. 0 Prototype whose height barely exceeded my waist, did I truly grasp the meaning of the "severe malnutrition" label on her medical examination.

"Initiator located. Initiating the exchange of intelligence available to citizens... Command System confirmed offline. AMa System operating in offline mode. No weaponry detected. Confirmed as an emergency activation outside of the mission. Sentiment level temporarily adjusted for better communication and understanding of the situation... Initiator, question: Is this machine under duress?"

'This was No. 0 Prototype's first conversation. She made me realize what we've been lacking for the past few years.'

Those things are invisible from the outside.

In the past, we would angrily rebuke the Archaeology Division at meetings, saying, "You are forcing each other to become enemies." But if this were a place where you could die just by putting down a plate, then it's only natural to be afraid and terrified.

Even if they say they want to get along well, if they're just hiding behind a camera in a gray concrete bunker, watching each other like bystanders looking at exotic animals, then it's seen as imprisonment... and even the sound of a plate hitting the bedside table seems to trigger a stress reaction.

'This kind of argument cannot be discussed with colleagues from Applied Division perspective, because the experimental subject and the experimenter are inherently unequal in status.'

'We're all saying we're afraid, the thickness of reinforced concrete keeps increasing... and for No. 0 Prototype... for this child, even with eyes that can see through one-way glass... the unease in their heart must be growing with time.'

'The thought that I was the first to make eye contact with her, but chose not to show myself because I knew it might upset her if I did, now seems like a complete mistake.'

'We can't assess anything from her unchanging expression. Ultimately, it's because we've become accustomed to her blank gaze and expressionless face that we overlook her potential human reactions.'

"And the thought that the other person has been waiting all these years to speak with me... fills me with overwhelming guilt."

'The small group in the Applied Division and the Archaeology Division are different; we've said before that life should be extremely precious.'

'We are doing work that involves exchanging our lives for what was left over from the last era. When we die, and who dies, is not something we can choose... But at least we should remember what those lives were exchanged for.'

'Because of cowardice, I wasted a lot of money building a Catastrophes- resistant laboratory; wasted the life of that deceased colleague; wasted the best opportunity to talk to Target Zero...'

'So... how can we make amends? And when should we begin taking concrete actions?'

The answer is the same as when we separated from the Archaeology Division...

The best time is always now.

"No, you're not being imprisoned. These walls aren't here to confine you, but to protect us... It's my fault, I didn't even think to talk to you... But why don't you talk to the others?"

"Because nobody asked me."

August 25, 1063.

'Today, after the alarm was deactivated, I sat in the chair I had moved myself and spent a long time with the No. 0 Prototype... Although it was supposed to be a conversation, she was essentially more like a responding machine.'

It is said that the code name AMa means "[can ask anything]", but the No. 0 Prototype disagrees with this.

She said she didn't do that kind of work... and that using the system was more of a compromise made to communicate and understand the situation.

She made it clear that she understood she was in a violation of the rules.

'I have many questions I want to know... such as whether such violations are dangerous, whether it will turn into another [Creator's Catastrophes] like it did a thousand years ago,' but No. 0 Prototype simply tilted its head and remained silent in the face of these questions.

'Finally, aside from borrowing scissors and No. 0 Prototype a haircut, trimming his nails, and changing his clothes today... all I figured out was why a colleague died inexplicably six months ago.'

Her account is that she only realized she had killed someone when she came to her senses.

She repeated the statement, 'It has been confirmed that we are in a violation.'

'Contrary to what everyone expected, when the No. 0 Prototype spoke of the deceased, it requested confirmation of the deceased's identity and then uploaded the information to some central command Terminal...'

"Obviously, we can't do that... There have been at least three civilizational shifts between the Previous Civilization and our present state, from the inferentially non-humanoid Teekaz to the rule of the 'Elders,' from the feudal dynasties created by the Elders to the ethnic regions divided by national geography today... Whether we [humans] and the [humans] they understand are the same thing is still a question mark."

'Furthermore, according to the No. 0 Prototype itself, she shouldn't have a personality; her current [self] and [empathy] are merely illegal alterations made to facilitate communication.'

'Having learned this, I realized that perhaps the Archaeology Division's thinking was correct. Just like that colleague's death, which was ultimately judged as the same crime of arrogance as the Archaeology Division's.'

'To confine a sentient being in a space devoid of anything but gray... this is extremely cruel, even to animals. Ultimately, regardless of its intelligence, it will inevitably go insane. There are countless similar experiments.'

'In fact, the fact that she's been able to eat and sleep in that sturdy little box until now... is already quite carefree.'

"And then, I began to live with the No. 0 Prototype, trying my best to treat him as a human being, and even becoming his friend."

June 1064

Application Division No. 77 Laboratory, No. 0 Prototype Gravity-Armor Isolation Zone - Voice Recording.

Recorder: Diana Ivy Walter

"So, how can you maintain this kind of 'rationality'? Not this tense and unsettling state of breaking the rules, but truly having emotions."

"Diana, your problem involves illegal activities. Completely removing the emotional locks from the military-grade prosthetic body raises serious ethical issues..."

"But, Zero, you're in a state of emergency, aren't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't be answering like this."

"Yes, the work of a military individual isn't to answer... it's just that I'm currently running the AMa System, which is why I have the ability to converse. Also, the emotional alert threshold of this machine has been confirmed to be nearing its limit..."

"... Can we ignore that limit?"

"No, because the Command System is offline. Emotions exceeding the warning threshold will be considered out of control. I will shut down all empathy-related software and forcibly return to the nearest friendly forces."

I still can't forget the look Zero gave me back then.

'This child went from mechanically conversing with himself to being led by himself to converse with other researchers... from passively maintaining basic vital signs to learning to say what he wanted for the first time...'

'In just one year, she visibly began to resemble a human being.'

'But that comes at a price... According to her, it's because her rigid military-style thinking failed to improve the situation, leading her to continuously allow her emotional Empathy systems to exceed their limits.'

'These are things she already possesses, but as a military individual, she doesn't need too much emotion to influence mission execution... I've also asked why she needs to be equipped with various systems that allow her to communicate and interact with people, even empathize with them.'

"Because military personnel are not simply weapons; weapons alone cannot win battles... They also need love for their motherland and its people."

"... But the records clearly describe you as the ruthless killer?"

"What are you saying? Aren't you citizens of our country either?"

Looking at the information in front of her, Nana compared the descriptions with the actual items in her hands.

Beginning in 1064, in order to prevent the No. 0 Prototype from going berserk again, the Applied Division began research on the 'Memory Erasure Agent' under the guidance of 'Zero'.

According to the description, it can not only effectively erase the memories of the No. 0 Prototype, causing emotions based on those memories to dissipate, but it also has a very strong memory erasure ability against the current indigenous people.

Based on the surviving written records, this drug does not appear to be based on chemical compounds, but rather on some method of cleaning 'information' using the Originium somatic cell fusion benchmark.

Its synthesis is not difficult; in fact, it's almost a given that it can be synthesized using Originium Arts, as if this thing was originally designed based on Originium and Originium Arts...

However, since it is a formula from Previous Civilization, the Originium Arts required for it are extremely precise, making it seem like something that humans could actually use. The Archaeology Division also had sorcerers use sophisticated instruments to synthesize small quantities to avoid failure.

In the recording, Zero claimed it was: 'an essential drug for fighting a certain enemy.'

But what is that enemy? Zero said she didn't have the authority to know... Nana suddenly thought of the Collapse Entity. For those bizarre Demons that exist based on 'information', perhaps this thing that seems like poison now is actually used to allow more warriors to fight without any worries.

This made her think again of her own weak emotions, and how Zero in the records couldn't even fully develop his emotions to a human level... Nana then thought of that inexplicable 'exploration'... and Kal'tsit's future admonition.

I know how resistant you are to those things.

Although it's been a long time Nana can't remember Kal'tsit's exact words, that's roughly the gist of it, right?

Does this mean that one is a soldier from Previous Civilization fighting against Demons?

The thought lingered in her mind for a moment before being dismissed. Was it because her emotions were too weak? Or was it because she had no memory and therefore no sense of responsibility? The Previous Civilization had been gone for so many years. Even if she suddenly knew that she seemed to be shouldering some important responsibility, Nana couldn't muster any interest.

Compared to that, Nana might be more interested in seeing the progress between Zero and Diana.

But the records abruptly stop here, covering the period between 1064 and 1073.

If Nana remembers correctly, 1073 was the year Ursus's first emperor, Vladimir Ivan, died, and Feodor Vladimirovich ascended to the throne... The expansion of that nation roughly came to an abrupt halt around that time.

This was a time when Columbia's foreign policy began to improve, as the war ended and countries started to strengthen trade.

But in the lab records, not only did Mika and Nagisa's names and photos appear out of nowhere during those nine years, but afterwards... Diana's work records also dwindled to just one final entry. (Lin)

P. S.: I've made a lot of changes, please refresh the page, sob sob.

Originally, I only intended to write about Nana's past and then stop, but I unconsciously veered towards Nana's past life and her relationship with her manager... After thinking about it, I decided to divide it into sections... Once this flashback ends, this volume can begin its conclusion.

5th Laytonson's Ghost Assassin: 199 They are indeed free.

Applied Division Record, Recorder: Diana Ivy Walter.

August 25, 1073.

'The memory erasure drug has been successfully developed.'

September 1073.

'Zero won't go berserk anymore.'

As the final two sentences of the log, they are concise and to the point.

However, compared to the previous lengthy posts and the emotional shifts within them, these last two entries seem more like scraps left behind, and an explanation to those who came to inspect them.

After all, the empty space on the hard drive rack stacked by month was quite conspicuous. From August 1064 to 1073... all the records of Zero's life after he gained emotions and activated the AMa System in emergency mode were completely lost.

Excluding seemingly unlikely factors such as mismanagement by the Archaeology Division, Nana believes the most probable reason is that the artifacts were taken away by the individuals involved.

My agent once said that respectable people don't keep diaries.

But there's no way around work records being mixed with personal feelings. Even though Nana was racking her brains trying to find out what Zero did, the answer was still the same... if it's not there, it's not there. The gossip-loving assassin could only put down the Terminal that originally belonged to the data administrator.

That said, these are all work records, isn't the difference between Archaeology Division and Applied Division too obvious?

Just as Nana was pondering this question, a dull thud came from behind the armored protective door. In her Empathy, it was the monster called 'Sacred Remains' issuing a 'warning' to her.

Was it because of the Little Cat's emotional resonance? The monster, whose mind was originally blank, has now learned restraint and communication... Nana didn't know what effect those incredibly painful memory archives would have on the Sacred Remains, but since it didn't cause any damage but openly extended an 'invitation' to her, Nana definitely had to go and see it face to face.

Just like Diana's meeting with Zero years ago, Nana has once again opened that blast door from decades ago.

The quarantine area was a scene of visibly chaotic chaos, but amidst the chaos, the undocumented details of daily life became embellishments of the violent struggles... Nana recalled Diana's words, "Some things must be seen with one's own eyes."

Without seeing it with your own eyes, you can't imagine what this oppressive space really looks like.

Unlike the rooms in the Applied Division, which were originally just concrete bunkers, this isolation point, now taken over by the Archaeology Division, has been reinforced with heavy armor steel as a safety measure.

The hardened metal is now covered with marks from violent tearing and massive impacts, as is part of the floor made of the same material. Along the four corners of the room, numerous high-intensity light strips illuminate the center without any blind spots.

The dark green crystalline monster with three Halo above its head was pressed to the ground by heavy shackles, while eight devices resembling manufacturing stations were being manipulated by omnidirectional mechanical arms to continuously spray something onto the Sacred Remains.

Nana sniffed the air; it seemed to be Active Originium solution mixed with some kind of Originium Arts healing potion. Almost simultaneously, Anna's voice notification came through her agent watch:

[Active Originium Pollution detected.]

As expected of the Archaeology Division, even at a time like this, they can still pull off something amazing... The concentration of Active Originium in this room is so high that anyone entering without protection would probably get acute Oripathy the moment they stepped in.

However, Nana's Originium cell fusion rate once exceeded 70% during the Ticarondo Catastrophes, and even after treatment from Kal'tsit and the Doctor, it still reached 25%...

Almost all of her Calcification bones have transformed into dark green crystals of the same material as the 'Sacred Remains'. In fact, these crystallized bones are constantly repairing themselves by relying on the Originium components in her blood. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Nana has developed a certain degree of Originium resistance.